AIFF to ask
for players’
medical
records

OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

New Delhi: Concerned over a spate of injuries during national camps, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) has decided to make it mandatory for players to submit their current medical history before joining the squad.

“In future, all national team footballers will have to sign a form declaring whether they are carrying any injury. In case any player is suffering from any medical problem, he will have to give details of the treatment he is undergoing,” an AIFF official said on Tuesday.

Sources said the federation was upset over the recent development when a number of footballers were found injured a few days after a 30-member squad left for Dubai last February to prepare for the AFC Challenge Cup. While at least four players had to undergo MRI scan, a couple of them could hardly play any match.

On Tuesday, national coach Savio Medeira, who was in the capital, told the AIFF bosses that he had no prior knowledge of the injuries before the team arrived in Dubai. At a meeting that included general secretary Kushal Das and technical director Robert Bann, the national coach admitted that all these injuries severely affected his plans for the tournament.

Among the injured players were defenders Nirmal Chetri and Arnab Mondal and midfielder Baldeep Singh. Also, nursing an injury was skipper Sunil Chetri, who was definitely not at his best in the AFC Challenge Cup.

Medeira, however, backtracked on his earlier comments that there was lack of commitment on the part of the footballers and said his statement was twisted by the media. In his written report, the coach said he was happy with the support he received from the players.